TC'S Huerta Discusses NYC School Funding Case

TC faculty member Luis Huerta recently appeared on "Urban Agenda," a
CUNY television program, to discuss a decade-long lawsuit aimed at
bringing New York City billions of dollars in additional school
funding.

The suit-brought by a coalition of parents, community
school boards and advocates known as the Campaign for Fiscal Equity
(CFE)-is the most prominent school finance suit among the more than 45
ongoing nationwide. In June 2003, New York State's highest court found
for CFE and ordered state lawmakers to fix New York's school funding
system. When the state legislature missed the deadline for determining
a specific increase in education funding, Judge Leland DeGrasse
appointed a panel of Special Masters to do so. In November, the Masters
recommended that the city receive an additional $5.6 billion from New
York State over four years for school operations and $9.2 billion for
facilities.

"This case is unprecedented in a variety of
factors," said Huerta, Assistant Professor of Education, who appeared
on the CUNY show with Melorra Sochet, Deputy Director of the New York
City Council's Commission on the Implementation of CFE. "The most
important is that Justice DeGrasse is in a position to order the amount
of revenues which should be spent on public schools in New York City,
rather than the legislature deciding this, which has been the trend
nationwide. So that's something that's signaling a very important
change in how schools are funded, and all states are actually watching
New York and what's happening here." Huerta noted that the issue of how
the additional funds will be generated still remains to be resolved.

The
non-partisan independent City Council Commission on CFE
Implementation-which is co-chaired by TC President Arthur Levine-has
been holding a series of public hearings to develop recommendations on
how the city should spend money from the CFE suit. To view Professor Huerta on "Urban Agenda," visit www.tc.edu/inside.